Gender Equity and LGBTQ Rights Staff Attorney

Summary

Legal Aid at Work (LAAW) partners with people to help them understand and assert their workplace rights, and advocates for employment laws and systems that empower low-paid workers and marginalized communities.

LAAW has seven core program areas: (1) Community Legal Services; (2) Disability Rights; (3) Gender Equity & LGBTQ Rights; (4) National Origin and Immigrants’ Rights; (5) Racial Economic Justice; (6) Wage Protection; and (7) Work & Family. Through these programs, LAAW:

• Provides free, individualized legal advice and counsel throughout California to thousands of low-income workers;
• Pursues targeted enforcement and impact litigation to strengthen and clarify the law;
• Conducts community outreach and education for workers, their advocates, their families, and their health and social service providers; and
• Advocates for laws, regulations, and policies at the local, state, and national levels to strengthen civil and workplace rights.

As a social justice organization, Legal Aid at Work’s mission is rooted in the firm belief that all people deserve respect, dignity, and self-determination at work, at school, and in their communities. Structural and systemic racism—with the oppression of Black and Indigenous people at its core—and other forms of injustice shape the society and the civic, political, and legal systems in which we work and live. Legal Aid at Work is committed to developing and nurturing an organizational culture that will dismantle systems of oppression, uplift people from underrepresented communities, and create a workplace that is truly equitable and inclusive. As such, we strongly encourage candidates from underrepresented communities to apply.

The Position

Guided by a mission of gender justice, we partner with our clients to vindicate their rights and build power in their workplaces. Recognizing the high incidence of poverty in the LGBTQ community, particularly as experienced by people of color and in rural and underserved areas, LAAW works to eliminate barriers to full and equal participation in employment based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and interlocking types of oppression. Our clients include women, LGBTQ people, immigrants, military veterans, survivors of harassment and domestic and sexual violence, and other under-represented individuals.

The Gender Equity & LGBTQ Rights Program serves hundreds of clients a year providing advice and referral and representing them in efforts to resolve disputes directly with employers and at the administrative level with state and federal agencies. The Program has an active litigation docket, bringing individual and class actions in state and federal court. The team also provides technical assistance to community partners; engages in community education and works in coalition with other legal aid organizations to advance the rights of workers.

Responsibilities

Legal Aid at Work seeks a Staff Attorney in our Gender Equity & LGBTQ Rights Program who will join our organization in the fight to achieve justice for women and the LGBTQ community through the vigorous advancement and enforcement of civil rights and employment laws.

With oversight from the Program Director, the Staff Attorney may be involved in all aspects of the Program’s activities including, but not limited to the following:

• Investigating, developing, initiating and litigating enforcement and impact cases with a particular focus on serving clients in the Central Valley of California;
• Using legal strategies to support worker centers and other community partners;
• Assisting with the Program’s direct services work, including responding to helpline calls and representing clients in limited and full legal representation with administrative agencies;
• Assisting the Program Director and other team members with developing strategy for the program;
• Conducting community outreach and education in conjunction with community partners;
• Participating in coalition meetings and other activities to advance coalition building;
• On occasion, coaching and mentoring law clerks and fellows.

Due to organizational priorities and funding requirements, the Staff attorney will spend about 40% of their time on cases and advocacy impacting communities in the Central Valley, therefore attorneys with ties to and/or understanding of the Central Valley and its population are strongly encouraged to apply. This position requires someone who is bilingual in Spanish.

Requirements

The following list of core competencies and experiences is provided to share insight into the requirements of the role and the general level of experience we seek in candidates. We encourage all qualified candidates and those with relevant or transferable experience to apply, even if you do not bring experience in all of the areas noted below.

Candidates must be active members of the California State Bar, or be willing to take the next California Bar Examination if currently a member of another state bar. Candidates may be located anywhere in the state of California. A majority of our staff work remotely. Strong preference will be given to applicants with personal or professional experience working with impacted communities.

• Demonstrated commitment to social justice and civil rights work; a passion for Legal Aid at Work’s mission of seeking justice for low-wage workers;
• 3 to 5 years of litigation experience;
• Strong relationships with community-based organizations and experience working with low-wage worker and/or LGBTQ, and/or immigrant communities;
• Experience with investigation, case development, and litigation including working with administrative agencies, discovery, motion practice, hearings, trials and/or appeals in California and/or federal courts;
• The ability to work collaboratively on a small team of attorneys and paralegals;
• Experience managing multiple projects simultaneously, and prioritizing competing deadlines;
• Willingness to develop projects on their own initiative;
• Strong legal research, writing, and analytical skills;
• Bilingual in Spanish;
• The ability to think strategically about the role of a legal nonprofit in supporting grassroots organizing efforts;
• A commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and the ability to hold and foster difficult and necessary conversations about sex, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and other protected categories;
• A commitment to racial equity work and incorporating racial equity principles into legal advocacy;
• Ability to use tact and diplomacy when dealing with sensitive issues and to maintain confidentiality;
• Strong interpersonal skills, initiative, leadership, and organizational abilities;
• Willingness to supervise and mentor law students;
• The ability to travel as necessary within California and to other parts of the country for litigation, speaking events, meetings, and conferences.

Additional Preferred Qualifications

• Background in gender equity and LGBTQ rights work;
• Demonstrated ties and commitment to the Central Valley.

Compensation

Legal Aid at Work offers salaries that are competitive in the public interest law community. Benefits include health plans, long-term disability and life insurance, 403(b) retirement plan, and generous paid vacation and holidays. As a unionized organization, Legal Aid at Work believes in the importance of employees organizing to improve their working conditions. This position is included in the bargaining unit represented by ESC Local 20. Salary placement at hire and salary advancement will be in accordance with the negotiated salary scale in the union contract for this position. Attorney salaries are paid depending on years out of law school and range from $90,000 to $172,950.

To Apply

Please email (1) your resume, (2) a cover letter detailing your interest in the position, and (3) three references to:

Gender Equity Staff Attorney Search Committee, Legal Aid at Work

Email:  jobs@legalaidatwork.org

Legal Aid at Work is committed to a diverse, multicultural work environment. LAAW is an equal opportunity and fair chance, employer. Our complete EEO and DEI statements as well as further information concerning the organization and its programs can be found at legalaidatwork.org. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Legal Aid at Work will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.